Once and For Always
by pippagethetook01
Summary: The Pevensies are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Susan has forgotten Narnia, and it seems there's no way to bring it back to her...But old friends may know more than they expected.


**Once and For Always**

_Chapter One_

"Once a King or Queen in Narnia…" Peter said, hugging Lucy's tiny body.

"Always a King or Queen," Lucy choked out through tears.

They were sitting side by side on the couch in their living room. Normally, Peter and Lucy didn't make a deal of crying in the middle of a sunny, breezy day, but Lucy couldn't help it. "Do you r-really think she hasn't forgotten? Not to say that I d-don't, but…She just seems so…so distant, Peter." Lucy said, stuttering because of the deep, heaving sobs racking her body.

"Shh, Lu…" Peter didn't answer right away. It had been a year since they had been in Narnia, and he didn't know what to think about Susan. He didn't want it to be true, but…Well, just wanting something doesn't make it so, now does it? After a minute of thought, as Lucy was calming and composing herself, he said, slowly and deliberately, "I don't know, Lu. I just don't know. I don't want her to have, not at all, and I don't understand how she could have, but…I suppose this world draws her in more than Narnia."

"Why do you think that is?" Edmund asked, walking into the room and occupying the third cushion on the couch.

Lucy took a deep breath, as if about to dive into a swimming pool, and said, "Because she didn't want to be strange."

Her words hung in the air for a moment. None of them was particularly open about Narnia with those who wouldn't understand, but sometimes, they'd say things - things that were so natural to them, but so odd to others. For instance, just the other day, Edmund had remarked, "By the Lion's Mane, this must be the most beautiful day we've had in months." Peter and Lucy had nodded, while the lady directly in front of them in the grocer's check-out line turned her head and cocked one eyebrow. Susan, also standing with them at the time, had dug her elbow into Edmund's side, causing him to yelp, and the lady to look over her shoulder again, this time sniffing derisively.

After the three had thought about it for a bit, Lucy piped up again. "Well, just because old soggyboots Susan won't have any adventures with us anymore doesn't mean we can't reminisce together anyway!"

Something about the cheerfulness in her voice made Edmund and Peter smile, and Edmund's eyes lit up when he said, "Ah, yes. Let's do. I remember when Aslan broke the Stone Table. Was that not the biggest victory Narnia has ever seen?"

Peter laughed, "I remember the Witch's face when he came into sight! What a roar he let out!"

"I remember, in the Queen's castle, finding Mr. Tumnus as a statue, and feeling my heart sink into my stomach…and then, Aslan walked up to him, and just-" Lucy blew a puff of air onto an imaginary Tumnus' face, then continued, "And it was as if he just unfroze!"

At that moment, the door opened, and the three craned their necks to see Susan walk in. "Are you all still talking about that _Narnia_ nonsense? People will think you're daft."

And just with that, the balloon of hope and joy that had been inflated by remembering everything they loved most in that world seemed to collapse. Lucy squeaked, "Su, you remember-"

Susan retorted, all too sharply, "No, I don't! All these stories, these people, that beastly Lion-"

"Beastly?" Edmund stood and turned to face his older sister. No longer a twig-like boy of thirteen, he was now able to look down on Susan's face. "No one, not even you, insults the King of Narnia in front of me." His voice was low and menacing. His eyes seemed to burn as he said, "You may not remember, but I recollect how he gave up his life for me. That Witch pierced his heart for me. And you were there! You were watching! He gave everything that He could, and then - You were there for this, too - The Stone Table cracked! Everything He did for me - for you, too - and you call him beastly?"

"I don't remember any of this." Susan said, although from the tone of her voice, she was trying to convince herself of that. "It's just a silly game! You all let your imaginations run wild!" As she continued to deny Edmund's testimony, her voice grew stronger. "None of that really, honestly happened! It's just a brainless game! He's just a dumb Lion!"

Both Peter and Lucy jumped up from the couch at this. Edmund's face had turned a violent shade of red. Peter was first to speak. "Dumb? Even the Witch, in all her lack of wisdom, knew Aslan possessed all the knowledge of the universe! Or, perhaps by dumb, you mean we made him up in a dumb manner. Rather the opposite! The Great Lion made us into who we are!" Peter took a breath, as if to continue, but wisely chose to keep his choice words to himself.

Edmund, however, was pale. "You've really forgotten Him then?" was all he got out before sinking into an armchair, as if the mere thought of forgetting such an important being fatigued him.

Susan made a face that is only made by someone who is in bitter conflict within themselves, and finally sighed. "No," she finally said quietly, and Lucy ran up to her and flung her arms around her, but Susan promptly pushed her off. "How does one forget something that has never existed?"

By the looks on Peter and Edmund's faces, one could tell there were no words to describe the emotions welling up inside them. The color appeared again in Edmund's cheeks, and Peter's eyebrows were furrowed deeply. Lucy, however, said quietly, "Well, Su, even if you have forgotten him, _Aslan_ will never forget you."

The other three Pevensie children looked at Lucy in various states of shock - Peter with pride, Edmund with a certain understanding. Susan, however, looked entirely blank. Lucy looked up at her with only compassion, her face fraught with concern.

"Well." Susan said, in a voice most certainly not her own. She looked at Lucy for just one more moment and then ran for the staircase to her bedroom. Lucy's eyes fell to the carpet, and two round, fat tears dropped from her cheeks. Edmund turned to her and hugged her while Peter looked vacantly at the spot on the wall where Susan's head had been seconds ago. "Lu, that was the most Queenly thing I have ever heard. And, I do think you're entirely right." Peter said, his face brightening.

_More to come quite soon..._


End file.
